Risa
The system Risa is a resource poor system with only a single planet of note also called Risa.
The planet of Risa has 4 moons (of various sizes) locked in complicated and highly eccentric orbits. This means that the waters of Risa experience signififanct and very variable tidal influence.
The native state of the planet is unknown as it was heavily terraformed during the age of technology - it's planetry surface and bio-sphere undergoing complete revision to produce a 'vacation' planet.
To understand Risa you need to understand what the intent of the changes was. As this occured at the height of Dark Age Decadence the word 'purpose' is not an approprite word. Risa was to be the 'perfect primative island adventure'. The entire planet is covered in innumerable small islands each one unique. Surrounded by an apparently natural breakwater the shallows around each island are an oasis of calm in the otherwise turbulant water.
The 'vactioners' would be 'cast ashore' on the island with 'minimal supplies' and told that the goal was to see how long they could 'hold out' before pressing there emergency becon. In truth the islands flora and fauna was enginered to make survival trivally easy. Such was the genius of the bio-enginers that the conditons on each island were subtly different so two people comparing stories did not realise that there victories were handed to them. In doing so Risa presented the illusion of ingeniously overcoming risk and challange without any of those things being involved. The full extent of this is hard to understand but best appreciated by the fact that the "coconuts" on each island are filled with a delightful fruity nutricious drink that was naturally slighly alcholic. Furthermore each island had some unique feature hiden away for people to find by exploring - a mysterious ruined temple, a natural hot pool, a secret cave behind a majectic waterfall.
Then came the Age of Strife. The warp storms isolated Risa which left vactioners and tourists trapped in a system utterly unsuited to maintaining any form of high tech society. Exactly how it happened is unclear - but a decision was taken to mothball all of resort utilties (including a luxery star port) and the staff to travel down to the surface and scatter themselves across the islands. There they produced a stable stone age society that endured across the entire age of Strife.
The inhabitants of each island were saved from a pointless life of decadence and idleness from the fact that each island was simply to small to support a population without inbreeding rapidly becoming a problem. Overcoming this problem involved the creation of rafts to cross the gaps between the Island. A difficult task in the tidally influenced waters beyond each Islands break which required skill and bravery to acomplish. This activity was soon elevated to a cultural ideal. Before long the entire culture was driven by wanderlust - a nomadic culture undertaking long journeys simply primarily just for the joy of it. Exciting journeys that result end on an island just as perfect as the one that was left behind. This does mean that there is no real concept of land ownership beyond controlling the island you are standing on.
Meetings with another group of travellers involved a form of ritual combat to decide precedence. The combats are full contact and can often result in deaths. However the cultural idea is that the losers have to serve the winners (in there language literally "to become the staff"). This only lasts while the two groups remain on the same island and if one group attempts to enforces its will the other will just sail away. This ritual combat discourages injuring or killing an opponent simply as this would prevent them serving you; to quote one native "dead men bring you no coconuts". Indeed if you do kill your opponent cultural it is accepted that you are matched in ability because if you could have between them otherwise you would have done.
Risa return to the Imperium was counted as a successful compliance since there was nothing to resist them and the natives seemed to accept it. But it some became clear that the inhabitants were dealing with the Imperium by ignoring it and just living there lives as before. Administrators laid plans to do something more useful with the world but then Alighieri and the XVIII legion arrived and claimed it as their home world.
The Legion established itself in the facilties on the moon meaning there there chapterhouse is a stunning and soaring architercial wonder - but has no practical value. They have deployed a small number of mobile refineries and factories to the somewhat thin asteroid belt in the system - a gift from the Adeptus Mechanicus when it was clear that Alighieri had no claim on his 'homeworld'.
| Orks don't surf |
| – Unknown Marine of the XVIII Legion, M31, Risa |
At first the Legion ignored the natives but before long they found themselves travelling down to the Islands for 'Shore leave'. A concept which appears to be unique to the XVIII legion. This resulted in a number of contact with the natives - which in turn lead to some ritual fights. Which the marines could easily win without harming the natives. This resulted in a high status for the Marines which they have been quiet happy to accept. The Astarte in turn have developed an interest in some of the natives more daring water based activities. Once the natives realised that it was possible for them to become Marines - and travel the stars they leapt at the chance to begin "the furthest journey".
